India coronavirus dispatch: What are the prospects for a second wave?

Consequences of lifting lockdown, bridging the gulf with West Asia, and how job portals are up-grading to help laid-off staff-roundup of news in Indian publications on how India is handling Covid-19

Lifting lockdown made it seem all is hunky-dory. We’re seeing the consequences now: The cap-ital city of India, New Delhi, seems to be heading towards becoming the coronavirus capital as well, as many people are saying. The number of cases in Delhi is much less than in Mumbai, but the rate of growth in this city has been high, given that the number of cases was much lower earlier. What exactly is happening in Delhi? What has caused the sudden increase in cases? What is the medical response? How is the infrastructure prepared to cope with it? Read this interview with Arvind Ku-mar, chairperson of the Centre for Chest Surgery and Lung Transplantation at Sir Ganga Ram Hos-pital, Delhi, and founder of the Lung Care Foundation.

OPINION

In the pandemic crisis, bridging the gulf with West Asia: More than the loss of trade revenue and remittances, the return of semi-skilled and skilled workers alike into an economy struggling with jobs may become a point of worry. To mitigate the same, the government has tried to soften the blow by launching the Skilled Workers Arrival Database for Employment Support (SWADES) which attempts to capture the skills profile of returning workers and house them in a central portal that can be accessed by Indian and foreign companies. However, much more needs to be done with regard to reverse-migration and the economics attached to it. Read more here.

Helping the helpers: Domestic work is one of the biggest employers in India’s large informal econ-omy, especially in urban areas. It is also one of the largest employers of women. Yet, not enough focus has been placed on working women in our discussions on Covid-19 and the lockdown — there are no special economic packages for domestic workers unlike, say, for construction work-ers. Read more here.

MANAGING Covid-19

What are the prospects for a second wave of Covid-19? As authorities the world over lift econ-omy-crippling movement restrictions aimed at curbing coronavirus infections, the fear on everyone’s minds can be expressed in two words: second wave. The concern is that, once quelled, the pandemic will resurface with renewed strength, causing a repeat of rising infections, swamped health systems and orders for lockdowns. Rashes of new cases in pockets of Asia and the US have added to the fears. Read more here.

"People are just scared to eat out," says momo vendor in Guwahati: As part of the economic package to offset the losses caused by the lockdown, the government has announced a Rs 5,000-crore special credit facility for street vendors. The scheme, according to the government, will “sup-port nearly 5 million street vendors” by providing up to Rs 10,000 as working capital. Rabha said he was not aware of the announcement. Read more here.

Indian job portals are upgrading services to help laid-off employees: Coronavirus has brought with it several crippling blows to the Indian economy. The most apparent impact has been the fur-loughs and layoffs across aviation, media, and IT industries, among others. Now, job portals in the country are stepping up to help those who lost their livelihoods because of the Covid-19 pandemic by offering free assistance in building resumés and making connections with potential employers. Read more here.

UNDERSTANDING COVID-19

How rapid antigen test detects coronavirus, where it will be used: On Monday, the Indian Coun-cil of Medical Research (ICMR) approved one more kind of test for diagnosis of Covid-19. The rapid antigen detection test is to be used in specified settings, and kits from only one manufacturer have got approval. Read more here.

One in five people at risk of severe Covid due to other illness, study says: One in five people worldwide have an underlying health condition that puts them at risk for a severe Covid-19 illness if they contract the virus, scientists found. An estimated 1.7 billion people suffer from conditions ranging from type-2 diabetes to heart disease, according to a study published in The Lancet Global Health. About 349 million of them would probably need to go to the hospital for treatment if they were infected. Read more here.

‘Coincidental, not causal’: Experts say Delhi’s Covid surge and peak summer are not linked:

Delhi’s peak summer has come accompanied with a surge in the number of coronavirus cases, but experts and trends both suggest it is coincidental and not causal. Delhi recorded an average daily case total of 65 in the first week of April, the first summer month, according to government health bulletins. However, the number has surpassed 1,000 fresh cases daily almost every day since May-end. On Friday, the national capital reported over 2,000 fresh cases in a day.  However, the temper-ature trends appear to suggest the link is a coincidence. Read more here.

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